Knitting machine



March 12, 1940. F. c. FRANK KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 11, 1939 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 12, 1940 QFECE KNITTING MAQHINE Frederick 0. Frank, Beverly, N. J., assignor to Beaunit Mills, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 11, 1939, Serial No. 272,969

9 Claims.

My invention provides simple means for producing patterned knitted fabrics and knitted fabrics exhibiting'other fancy effects, especially through the use of long and short loops, and more especially through the use of pile loops hanging on a base or ground fabric. The pile loops may or may not be cut, and/or the fabric may be brushed'or otherwise treated, as desired. My invention is peculiarly well suited for spring beard needle machines, and for line out machines, that is to say, machines having many needles per inch, but it can be used with latch and other types of needles also and in coarse cut machines, as will be apparent.

According to my invention, I use sinkers. at least some of which have yam-engaging loopmeasuring surfaces arranged to produce long or pile loops; the sinkers are distributed as the desired pattern or fancy effect may require. By

1 the term sinker, I refer to those pieces which operate in the spaces between adjacent needles regardless of whether or not they fix the lengths of knitted loops by sinking the yarns, i. e., by drawing the yarns around the needle stems or staifs; various forms of sinkers capable of fixing or measuring the lengths of the yarn loops are known; preferably however I use sinkers of the kind that engage the yarns at their forward edges as it were and sink the yarns around and between .the needle stafis, that have a sliding or other simple movement, and that are arranged in a bank which, as a bank, is stationary with respect to the bank of needles rather than s-inkersin a sinker Wheel or sinker wheels. Usually I use sinkers having at least two yarn-engaging surfaces either one of which may be capable of producing loops longer than the loops normally forming a base or ground fabric, and preferably sinkers having three yarn-engaging loop-measuring throats, one of which may produce loops forming a base fabric. Herein I use the plural term surfaces as including not only distinctly separate and individual yarn-engaging surfaces such as those aiforded by yarn throats for example, but also a single surface sufliciently long or extended to engage yarns at two or more dif-' ferent positions. With sinkers as indicated, I employ two or more feeds feeding diiferent arrays of yarns andpreferably feeding the yarns to different arrays or lots of yarn-engaging loopmeasuring surfaces of the sinkers. Thereby I can produce vertical stripes, and also fancy effects by an intermixture of loops of clifierentyarns or colors, for example; the particular disposition of the. loops in any instance depends on the arrangement and disposition of the sinkers; Additionally, by shifting yarn guides to change the position of yarn delivery with respect to the loopmeasuring sinker surfaces from time to time, I can produce horizontal stripes and can also produce separate figures. Still further, by using yarn-guiding devices of the kind by which yarns can be thrown into and out of action at will, in some instances by changing the range of movement of the sinkers from time to time, and by other expedients known to knitters, further variations can be added to those producible by the primary sinker-and-yarn-feeding arrangement indicated above.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of my invention as employed to knit a base or ground fabric, either carrying vertical stripes of pile loops of two different kinds or colors of yarns and vertical stripes formed by the base fabric itself without pile loops, or carrying variations of this producible by shifting yarn guides. Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view at one side of the knitting machine, and Fig. 2 illustrates the sinkers, a possible grouping of sinkers of my invention, and the relation of the feed of yarn to the sinkers.

As will be apparent from Fig. l, the knitting machine itself can be a quite conventional one having a cylinder i carrying conventional spring bearded needles 2 sliding in individual slots, a cam ring 3 carrying cams to reciprocate the needles successively, swinging presser plates 4 (say one for each needle) cam-actuated to close the needle beards at the usual times to permit casting oil of the old loops, a slotted bed 5 carrying sliding sinkers 6, an annular member l carrying cams, for example 3, to reciprocate the sinkers 6 successively at each feed substantially as heretofore and in a time relation to the reciprocation of the needles that will be understood from prior practices, and suitable members 5' and it sup-port various of the parts illustrated. It is immaterial whether the needle cylinder i and the sinker bed l rotate while the cam carriers 3 and l are held stationary, or vice versa. The machine is provided with two or more feeds, each of which includes yarn guides the location of which is described with reference to Fig. 2. The construction and general mode of operation of the machine illustrated will be understood from the foregoing.

The sinkers 6 are of the type which engage the yarns at their forward or inwardly pointing edges and sink the yarns by sliding longitudinally inwardly (under the thrust of their operating cams) Iii in the spaces between adjacent needles; .1. e., they draw the yarns around the stems or shanks of the needles, and by the depth to which the sinkers sink the respective yarns they measure or fix the lengths of the corresponding loops or stitches. One sinker can be provided between, say, each two adjacent needles. As illustrated in the drawing, each sinker is provided with three yarn-engaging lo,oprneasuring surfaces l5, l6, l1, each of which is preferably a separate throat or catch. All the sinkers 6 have the same range of movement and all are operated alike. Each of the yarn-engaging surfaces may be so disposed (that is to say, in the case of throats I5, l6, etc., may be cut to such depth) as to produce either, say, a short loop suitable for forming part of a base or ground fabric or a longer or pile loop that will hang more or less loosely from. the base or ground fabric. As will be observed accordingly, the sinkers may be made in a number of different forms differing among themselves with respect to the disposition of their yarn-engaging loop-measuring surfaces. At each interneedle space (at least throughout that part or parts of the machine where I wish to produce fancy ef fects) I use a sinker having such a disposition of its yarn-engaging surfaces as will produce the type of loop or loops I wish to produce at the respective wale. For example, in order to produce a base or ground fabric of one kind of yarn carrying vertical stripes of pile loops of, say, red and black yarns and intermediate vertical stripes without pile loops: I use in each section ll! of the machine, where a vertical stripe of red pile loops is to. be produced, sinkers such as ta in Fig. 2; each of these sinkers to has its lower throat I? cut deep so that it sinks between its adjacent needles only enough yarn to form a .loop of the base or ground fabric; its middle throat it cut shallower so as to sink a sufficient length of yarn to form a pile loop; and its uppermost throat I5 is cut deep so as to sink only sufficient yarn to form a base or ground fabric loop. At each section ID of the machine, I use such a number of thesesinkers 6a as are necessary to produce a red stripe of the width I desire. In each section II of the machine where I wish to produce vertical stripes of black pile loops, I use sinkers like 6b wherein the lower throat fl and also the middle throat l6 are cut so deep that they sink only sufiicient lengths of yarn to form base fabric loops, while the uppermost throat I5 is shallow so that it is capable of producing or adapted to produce pile loops. At each section ll of the machine, I use as many of the sinkers lib as are necessary to produce the desired width of black stripe. In each section l2 where a stripe of fabric without pile loops is desired, I use such sinkers as that shown at 60 in Fig. 2; in these sinkers to all the throats l5, l6 and H are cut so deep that they are capable of sinking only sufficient yarn to form base fabric loops, and in each of these sections 12 I use as many of these sinkers 60 as are necessary to form stripes of the desired width. It will be understood that there may be as many of these patterning sections I0, I I, l2 as may be desired and the machine will accommodate, and these sections may be arranged in any order, and at other wales or other portions of the machine other forms of sinkers may be used, either such as is contemplated by my invention or otherwise. Two is 15 18 and 19 are sufficient to form the three kinds of stripes indicated, and if the machine is provided with more than two feeds the other feeds (assuming that these three kinds of stripes are to be produced) may be provided, alternately, with yarn guides such as those indicated at the feeds I3 and IS in Fig. 2. It will be understood that each feed includes cams for reciprocating the needles and sinkers as well as a guide or guides for feeding yarn to the needles and sinkers. To produce the kind of striping indicated, the feed l8 has a yarn guide 20 disposed to feed a base-fabric-forming yarn 2| to the needles in position to be received by the throats ll of all the sinkers, and also has a yarn guide 22 disposed to feed a red yarn 23 to' the needles in such position as to be received by the throats N3 of all the sinkers. Accordingly the yarn 2| will form baseor ground-fabric at all the sections l0, II and i2, while the red yarn 23 will be formed into pile loops at the sections II] but will be formed into base-fabric loops (plated with the main base-fabric-yarn 2!) at the sections H and I2. Also at the feed IS, a yarn guide 24 feeds base-fabric-forming yarn 25 in position to be taken into the throats ll of all the sinkers, and another yarn guide 26 feeds the black yarn 21 in position to be engaged by the throats l5 of all the sinkers. As a result, the yarn 25 everywhere takes part in producing the base or ground fabric while the yarn 21 forms pile loops hanging on the base fabric at each section I! but joins with the yarn 25 (in plating relation) to form base fabric at sections l0 and I2. Accordingly the completed fabric (when made with the array of sinkers and arrays of yarnsand yarn feeders illustrated in Fig. 2 and described) has a base fabric which, at each section H], carries pile loops of the red yarn 23 at alternate rows, at each section II carries pile loops of the black yarn 21 at alternate rows, and at each section I2 is formed solely of base or ground fabric.

By so mounting some or all of the yarn guides that they can be reset from time to time to feed their respective yarns to different arrays of the throats, the range of patterns and fancy effects can be enlarged considerably. Thus, for example, the yarn guide 26 may be so mounted that it can be shifted from the high yarn-feeding position of Fig. 2 to the intermediate position indicated in 26a wherein it will feed its yarn 21 to middle throats IE; or to a low position 2617 wherein it will feed its yarn to throats H; e. g. the yarn guide 26 may be carried by a lever 30, say, hinged at 31 to a bracket 32 mounted on ring 1 and provided with a tail 33 cooperating with additional parts of a pattern mechanism (pattern chain, bob pins or other devices. not shown), whereby the yarn guide 26 will be shifted from one to another of its positions as the desired pattern may require; yarn guide 26 may slide in and be guided by an extension 34 from bracket 32, while guide 24 is mounted in the extension. The weight 40 biases the lever 30 against the additional member (not shown) which shifts it. Similarly for example the yarn guide 22 of feed I8 can be mounted to occupy either the intermediate position 22 or an upper position 22a wherein it will deliver its yarn 23 for engagement by the highest sinker throats I5, or to a low position 221) wherein it will deliver its yarn 23 to the low throats H. The specific forms of the yarn guides and the pattern mechanism whereby they are shifted from one yarn-feeding position to another are immaterial to my present invention. By using adjustable yam guides however, the sections l0 and I I can be broken up ric.

the sinker throats act to hold the finished fabric down as the needles rise and "that their forward extensions 35 helpto guide the sinkers and may act to cast-off the finished loops from the needles. I, prefer to incorporate these common features in my sinkers.

Alsov it will be understood from the foregoing,

that my invention is not limited to the disposition of the sinkers as illustrated in Fig. 2; other groupings of sinkers can be used, as will be apparent and as has been suggested above; for example, alternating any two of the three kinds of sinkers 6a, 8b and So will produce a fabric speckled in a regular manner; intermixing all three of the sinkers 6a, 6b and 8c in a regular or irregular manner will produce a further speckled fancy effect. Likewise my invention is not limited to the three kinds of sinkers illustrated at 611, 6b and 60; other arrangements of the yarnengaging loop-measuring surfaces are possible, as is readily apparent, and may produce other forms of fabrics when employed in the manner described above. Nor is the invention limited to sinkers that engage the yarns at their forward or inner edges as will be apparent; neither is it limited to the use of two feeds arrannged in pairs as described, nor to the array of yarn guides described; it is apparent that these may be varied.

However I prefer sinkers having at least two yarn-engagii1g loop-measuring surfaces adapted to produce long loops where desired (e. g., yarn throats i5, E6) additional to any base-fabricloop-producing surfaces they may have, first because this permits me to form a base or ground fabric wholly or mainly of one yarn or class of yarns (e. g., from yarns 2i and 25), and second because the use of more than two yarn-engaging loop-measuring surfaces on each sinker permits me to use more than a corresponding number of different sinkers, i. e. sinkers differing among themselves with respect to the disposition of their yarn-engaging loop-measuring surfaces (as sinkers to, 6b and 6c difier from each other), even though one of those surfaces on each sinker is used to produce loops for a base or ground fab- Still further, it will be understood that various expedients for varying the stitching can be employed with my invention as above described,

and thereby the range of fancy effects producible by it widened still further. In general, my invention is subject to many obvious departures from the specific embodiment of it illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described above, and is not limited to the specific embodiment of it here disclosed, except as appears hereafter in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a pluraiity of sinkers, operable in interneedle spaces, each of at least some of which have at least one yarn-engaging surface disposed to cause the production of loops longer than the adjacent loops forming a base fabric and which differ among themselves with respect to the dis position of their yarn-engaging surfaces. a plurality of yarns, and a plurality of feeds at least one of which has yarn-guiding means feeding at least one of said yarns to one array of the sinker surfaces and another of said yarns to another array-thereof and. at least one. of .the feedsfeeding an array of said yarns different from the array fed by another of said feeds. 1

2. In a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of sinkers, operable in interneedle spaces, each of at least some of which have a plurality of yarn-engagingsuriaces disposed to cause the production of: loops of at least two different lengths and the sinkers of said plurality differing among themselves with respect to the dispositions of their yarn-engaging loopmeasuring surfaces, a plurality of yarns, and a plurality of feeds each of which feeds a plurality of said yarns, at least one of said feeds feeding at least one of said yarns to one array of said yarn-engaging loop-.neasuring surfaces and. an-

other of said feeds feeding at least one of said yarns to another array thereof 3. In operating a knitting machine having a plurality of sinkers acting in internee'dle spaces to fix the lengths of loops drawn from the yarns, and in which each of at least some of said sinkers have a plurality of yarn engaging surfaces differently disposed so as to produce loops of different lengths and in which said plurality of sinkers differ among themselves with. respect to the disposition of their yarn engaging loop-- measuring surfaces, the method which includes, in forming one course of the fabrics," feeding an array of a plurality of yarns in such positions that at least one of them is engaged by one array of said differently disposed yarn-engaging surfaces, and, in forming another course of the fabrics, feeding a different array of a plurality of yarns in such positions that at least one of them is engaged by a different array of said differently disposed yarn-engaging surfaces.

4. In a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of sinkers, operable in interneedle spaces, each of at least some of which have more than two yarn-engaging surfaces disposed to cause the production of loops of at least two d fferent lengths and the sinkers of said plurality differing among themselves with respe'ct to the dispositions of their yarn-engaging loop-measuring surfaces, and a plurality of feeds each having means to guide a plurality of yarns to the needles, at least one of said feeds having its yarn-guiding means disposed to feed yarns to a certain lot of the yarn-engaging surfaces of said sinkers which have, each, more than two yarn-engaging surfaces, and at least one other feed having its yarn-guiding means disposed to feed yarn to another lot of the yarn-engaging surfaces of the same sinkers.

5. In a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a plurality of sinkers, respectively allocated to different interneedle spaces, each having a yarn-engaging surface disposed to cause the production of base-fabric loops, each of at least some of said sinkers having also a plurality of yarn-engaging surfaces disposed to cause the production of loops at least one of which is longer than its base-fabric loop, and the sinkers which have a plurality of yarn-engaging loopmeasuring surfaces differing among themselves with respect to the dispositions of such surfaces, and a plurality of feeds each having means to guide a plurality of yarns to the needles, at least one of said feeds having its yarn-guiding means disposed to feed yarns to a certain lot of the yarn-engaging surfaces of the sinkers which have, each, more than two yarn-engaging surfaces, and at least one other feed having its yarnguiding means disposed to feed yarn to another lot of yarn-engaging surfaces of the same sinkers.

6. The subject matter of claim 5, characterized by the fact that the said yarn-engaging surfaces which cause the production of the basefabric loops, are similarly placed on substantially all said sinkers.

7. In a knitting machine having a bank of needles, a bank of sinkers which are movable sub-- stantially transversely of the needles in respectively different interneedle spaces, each of said sinkers having a forwardly facing yarn-engaging surface to sink base-fabric-forrning loops between its adjacent needles, each of at least a part of said sinkers having also a plurality of other forwardly facing yarn-engaging surfaces to sink loops, some of such other forwardly facing yarn-engaging surfaces of the sinkers being disposed farther forward than the base-fabricloop surface so as to sink loops longer than base-fabric-loops, and the sinkers having such plurality of forwardly facing yarn-engaging surfaces differing among themselves With respect to the forward placements of such surfaces, together with a plurality of feeds each having means to guide a plurality of yarns to the needles, at least one of said feeds having its yarn-guiding means disposed to feed yarns to a certain lot of the yarn-engaging surfaces of said sinkers which have, each, more than two yarn-engaging surfaces, and at least one other feed having its yarn-guiding means disposed to feed yarn to another lot of yarn-engaging surfaces of the same sinkers.

8. In a knitting machine having a bank of hooked needles, a bank of sinkers which are movable substantially transversely of the needles in respectively difierent interneedle spaces, each of said sinkers having a forwardly facing yarnengaging surface adapted to sink a base-fabricforming loop between its adjacent needles, and at least some of said sinkers having at least two other forwardly-facing yarn-engaging loopsinking surfaces at least one of which is disposed farther forward than the associated yarnengaging surface which sinks the associated base-fabric-loops so as to produce loops longer than the associated base-fabric-loops, said basefabric-loop surfaces being nearer than said other loop-sinking surfaces to the adjacent needle hooks at the loop-clearing positions, and the sinkers having such other yarn-engaging surfaces differing among themselves with respect to the forward placement of such other yarnengaging surfaces, together with a plurality of feeds each having at least two yarn guides, one yarn guide of each feed delivering its yarn in position for engagement by the base-fabric-loop surface of all said sinkers, one yarn guide of at least one feed delivering its yarn in position for engagement by a certain lot of the other yarnengaging surfaces of said some of the sinkers, and one yarn guide of at least one other feed delivering its yarn in position for engagement by another lot of said other yarn-engaging surfaces of the same sinkers.

9. The subject matter of claim 2, in combination with means to shift the yarn-guiding means of at least one feed to change the delivery of yarn of said feed from a certain lot of yarnengaging surfaces to another lot of yarn-engaging surfaces.

FREDERICK C. FRANK. 

